Summary: The article deals with the advancements in technology concerning our U.S. military, specifically in the case of our unmanned aerial vehicles or UAV’s. These UAV’s allow for our military to collect data, target specific suspects, and check smaller areas resulting in a significant decrease in soldier casualties. And now with advancements in technology these UAV’s are increasingly becoming smaller. So small in fact, they can be hidden in plain sight. Though these vehicles are also becoming more efficient on their usage of fuel. To the point were a UAV can set camp, get comfortable, activate it’s “perch and stare” mode, and collect data on specific area or suspect from days to even weeks. Then when needed, can fly to either change positions or follow a target. The article also touches upon MAV’s or micro air vehicles which are basically the same thing just a another iteration. On the other hand these vehicles have the potential to take out targets themselves, detect harmful toxins or chemicals within an area, and detect explosives and be able to send all that information back to human operators. Response: This article really reminded me of Cascio’s Participatory Panopticon and how always being under a watchful eye is becoming more and more real. Not to throw out some crazy conspiracy theories and to say that the government could use this on it’s own citizens. But to note that with any advancements in technology, no aspect of life is safe from the panopticon mentality, even war. I found it amazing from the videos I’ve seen how easily disguised these vehicles can become. For me it really created the question of “Where could they go from here?”. With all these advancements, it continues to not only change the ways of everyday life, but also the way war is played. Usefulness: I believe this technology is useful for the simple fact that it prevents so many soldier casualties on the battlefield. This also shows us of where are technology is currently at and where it might be headed.
21st Century Babies-"Building a Baby, With Few Ground Rules”
martinez12
Review By: Victoria Martinez
Summary: The article 21st-CENTURY BABIES- “Building a Baby, With Few Ground Rules” is an inquiry into the world of surrogacy and couples that do not have the means to reproduce naturally in today’s society. In this article, the author has interviews people that question the ethics of some of the “adoptive” parents. One case described a school teacher, Mr. Melinger, and the twin girls whose birth he orchestrated. Mr. Melinger, like an increasing amount of others, found a surrogate, egg donor, and sperm donor online and “assembled his children.” He then tried to adopt the girls officially but was told he was an unfit parent. This has taken the girls’ entire four years of their lives. The examples of three or four people in any given reproductive party is something that a fairly new concept. Many people are trying to make sense of it in a world that is now full of people willing to donate parts of their body, time, and minds.
Response: After reading this, I was shocked to find just how many custody battles there are revolving around these surrogate children. I am absolutely appalled that many clinics have inadequate screening for the participants. I thoroughly agree with Ms. Watson, an eye witness to Mr. Melinger case saying, “You should not be able to come from out of state on some contract and order up some babies and then go about your business.” This text makes me want to know about the other side of the story: the child, the donor, the doctor, the clinic, etc. Where is their story? What do people think of the new found “crop” of human eggs and sperm that are readily available? How is this affecting the way people view others that have surrogate or AID children?
Usefulness: What I wish to know more about is the affect that this is having on the donors. These parties are not just made out of baby-starved wing nuts and the other side of the story usually goes untold. I have looked on youtube.com and have even found video blogs of people talking about their experiences, but not many donors.
STEPHANIE SAUL 21st CENTURY BABIES- “Building a Baby, With Few Ground Rules” New York Times December 12, 2009
Summary: This article reveals the age of the creator of the new internet site chatroulette.com, he is a 17 year old highschool student from Moscow. Mr. Ternovskiy "created the game for fun and never expected it to become so big. He also said that people are using his website in some "not very nice ways". According to the creator the hardest thing he has faced is the amount of people on the site, and the heavy load. Ternovskiy said that he used to skype with his friend but got bored and created the site to talk to random people.He also said that the only thing stopping him from adding more features is that he doesnt really know what chatroulette is. Finaly he said that he is very glad that he created to site and is amused by all of the crazy things people are doing on chatroulette.
Response: I believe that this kid is going to be very rich and came up with a great idea. At first I couldn't even believe it, I was surprised to find out that the creator of the new craze was a higschool kid from Russia. I believe that he should not add other features but find ways to keep underage kids and perverts off the site. I think the awsome thing about the site is that it is so simple. Ternovskiy stated that he is a minimalist which I thought was very interesting, I wonder if he listens to minimal techno. I also thought that it was very intersting when he said it could be a place where teenagers party together, this weekend my friends kept the webcam on during our party and paired up with another group of people partying.
Usefulness: I believe that this article was very usefuld it was an interview with the creator of the site.
Summary: Laura Casey of the Contra Costa Times tells her experience with chatroulette, she met a 23 year old military police officer, a 26 year old Emmy from New Orleans, a 16 year old mike, and 70 year old Lyon. Casey calls Chatroulette the "hottest commodity on the internet". She brought up the problem that kids can log on to the site and there is no one checking ID's at the door. She says "Chatroulette worries me a bit", because kids might expose themselves to pedophiles. In the end of the article she asked the question why doesn't facebook have a video button.
Response: Casey was interested in many of the same things as me, I also thought it was the hottest thing on the web when i discovered the site. I thought that it was interesting that she mentioned chatroulette's minimalist charactaristics, it seems to me that minimalism is a trend that we will see more of. I thought that it was very interesting that she sugested that facebook should have a video chat button, I am surprised that facebook and myspace havent created a feature like this yet, if I were to make it i would have it so you would randomly chat with friends and friends of friends which could be interesting.
Micro Air Vehicles
Summary: The article deals with the advancements in technology concerning our U.S. military, specifically in the case of our unmanned aerial vehicles or UAV’s. These UAV’s allow for our military to collect data, target specific suspects, and check smaller areas resulting in a significant decrease in soldier casualties. And now with advancements in technology these UAV’s are increasingly becoming smaller. So small in fact, they can be hidden in plain sight. Though these vehicles are also becoming more efficient on their usage of fuel. To the point were a UAV can set camp, get comfortable, activate it’s “perch and stare” mode, and collect data on specific area or suspect from days to even weeks. Then when needed, can fly to either change positions or follow a target. The article also touches upon MAV’s or micro air vehicles which are basically the same thing just a another iteration. On the other hand these vehicles have the potential to take out targets themselves, detect harmful toxins or chemicals within an area, and detect explosives and be able to send all that information back to human operators.
Response: This article really reminded me of Cascio’s Participatory Panopticon and how always being under a watchful eye is becoming more and more real. Not to throw out some crazy conspiracy theories and to say that the government could use this on it’s own citizens. But to note that with any advancements in technology, no aspect of life is safe from the panopticon mentality, even war. I found it amazing from the videos I’ve seen how easily disguised these vehicles can become. For me it really created the question of “Where could they go from here?”. With all these advancements, it continues to not only change the ways of everyday life, but also the way war is played.
Usefulness: I believe this technology is useful for the simple fact that it prevents so many soldier casualties on the battlefield. This also shows us of where are technology is currently at and where it might be headed.
-Ian Keller
http://www.gizmag.com/go/4779/
21st Century Babies-"Building a Baby, With Few Ground Rules”
martinez12
Review By: Victoria Martinez
Summary: The article 21st-CENTURY BABIES- “Building a Baby, With Few Ground Rules” is an inquiry into the world of surrogacy and couples that do not have the means to reproduce naturally in today’s society. In this article, the author has interviews people that question the ethics of some of the “adoptive” parents. One case described a school teacher, Mr. Melinger, and the twin girls whose birth he orchestrated. Mr. Melinger, like an increasing amount of others, found a surrogate, egg donor, and sperm donor online and “assembled his children.” He then tried to adopt the girls officially but was told he was an unfit parent. This has taken the girls’ entire four years of their lives. The examples of three or four people in any given reproductive party is something that a fairly new concept. Many people are trying to make sense of it in a world that is now full of people willing to donate parts of their body, time, and minds.
Response: After reading this, I was shocked to find just how many custody battles there are revolving around these surrogate children. I am absolutely appalled that many clinics have inadequate screening for the participants. I thoroughly agree with Ms. Watson, an eye witness to Mr. Melinger case saying, “You should not be able to come from out of state on some contract and order up some babies and then go about your business.” This text makes me want to know about the other side of the story: the child, the donor, the doctor, the clinic, etc. Where is their story? What do people think of the new found “crop” of human eggs and sperm that are readily available? How is this affecting the way people view others that have surrogate or AID children?
Usefulness: What I wish to know more about is the affect that this is having on the donors. These parties are not just made out of baby-starved wing nuts and the other side of the story usually goes untold. I have looked on youtube.com and have even found video blogs of people talking about their experiences, but not many donors.
STEPHANIE SAUL 21st CENTURY BABIES- “Building a Baby, With Few Ground Rules” New York Times December 12, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/us/13surrogacy.html?_r=4&pagewanted=4
Chatroulette’s Creator, 17, Introduces Himself
Matthew Tuszynski
Summary: This article reveals the age of the creator of the new internet site chatroulette.com, he is a 17 year old highschool student from Moscow. Mr. Ternovskiy "created the game for fun and never expected it to become so big. He also said that people are using his website in some "not very nice ways". According to the creator the hardest thing he has faced is the amount of people on the site, and the heavy load. Ternovskiy said that he used to skype with his friend but got bored and created the site to talk to random people.He also said that the only thing stopping him from adding more features is that he doesnt really know what chatroulette is. Finaly he said that he is very glad that he created to site and is amused by all of the crazy things people are doing on chatroulette.
Response: I believe that this kid is going to be very rich and came up with a great idea. At first I couldn't even believe it, I was surprised to find out that the creator of the new craze was a higschool kid from Russia. I believe that he should not add other features but find ways to keep underage kids and perverts off the site. I think the awsome thing about the site is that it is so simple. Ternovskiy stated that he is a minimalist which I thought was very interesting, I wonder if he listens to minimal techno. I also thought that it was very intersting when he said it could be a place where teenagers party together, this weekend my friends kept the webcam on during our party and paired up with another group of people partying.
Usefulness: I believe that this article was very usefuld it was an interview with the creator of the site.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/chatroulettes-founder-17-introduces-himself/
Matthew Tuszynski
Summary: Laura Casey of the Contra Costa Times tells her experience with chatroulette, she met a 23 year old military police officer, a 26 year old Emmy from New Orleans, a 16 year old mike, and 70 year old Lyon. Casey calls Chatroulette the "hottest commodity on the internet". She brought up the problem that kids can log on to the site and there is no one checking ID's at the door. She says "Chatroulette worries me a bit", because kids might expose themselves to pedophiles. In the end of the article she asked the question why doesn't facebook have a video button.
Response: Casey was interested in many of the same things as me, I also thought it was the hottest thing on the web when i discovered the site. I thought that it was interesting that she mentioned chatroulette's minimalist charactaristics, it seems to me that minimalism is a trend that we will see more of. I thought that it was very interesting that she sugested that facebook should have a video chat button, I am surprised that facebook and myspace havent created a feature like this yet, if I were to make it i would have it so you would randomly chat with friends and friends of friends which could be interesting.
Usefulness: This article was very useful.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-living-headlines/ci_14658077